"Any efforts to repeal or defund them will be met with stiff resistance," she writes. "For the sake of all Americans, these protections must remain in place."

A test vote is expected as early as Friday and a full House vote on repeal is scheduled for next Wednesday, Jan. 12.

A simple majority is all that's needed to pass repeal legislation in the House and there will be 242 Republicans in that chamber starting tomorrow. The Democratic-controlled Senate stands ever ready to block repeal efforts by incoming House speaker John Boehner and his crew.

But will there be House Democrats who want to go along with repeal?

Last year, there were 34 Democrats who joined Republicans in voting against the health care legislation. Thirteen of those Democrats, many of them centrists and members of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition, are returning to Congress tomorrow.

Already, Democratic Reps. Collin Peterson of Minnesota and Dan Lipinski of Illinois have indicated to The Hill, a newspaper about Congress, that they can support fixing or repealing parts of the health care law.

And what about incoming House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton's remarks from this weekend, saying Republicans would get "a significant number of Democrats" to repeal health care and possibly even have enough to override a veto from President Obama?

It takes 290 votes in the House to override a presidential veto. That would mean 48 Democrats would have to cross party lines and join all 242 Republicans to turn back Obama's signature domestic achievement.

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About Catalina Camia

Catalina Camia leads the OnPolitics online community and has been at USA TODAY since 2005. She has been a reporter or editor covering politics and Congress for two decades, including stints at The Dallas Morning News and Congressional Quarterly. Follow her at @USATOnPolitics.